International Mr. Leather still matters

René Hebert announced as IML titleholder at The Vic Theatre. Photo: International Mr. Leather, Inc. social media team.

Every Memorial Day weekend, while much of America marks the holiday with barbecues and flag-waving, a powerful expression of freedom, identity, and community takes center stage in Chicago: International Mr. Leather (IML).

And this year, in the shadow of the Second Trump Administration and a Congress determined to claw back the basic rights promised in the Declaration of Independence—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—the purpose of IML has never been clearer.

In the face of coordinated political attacks on LGBTQ people, people of color, and even women’s autonomy, IML stands tall as a defiant celebration of chosen family, sexual liberation, radical self-expression, and resistance.

What some dismiss as a niche or flamboyant spectacle is, in truth, a community declaring: We are still here. We are still free. We are still proud.

IML isn’t just about leather.

It’s about reclaiming space.

It’s about honoring the queer elders who lived in the shadows and the ones who fought their way into the light.

It’s about reminding the world that sexual identity, kink, and chosen intimacy are valid parts of the human experience.

It’s about resisting erasure in a time of backlash and political fear-mongering.

Chicago, proudly progressive and historically rich in LGBTQ activism, wears the IML badge with pride.

The city welcomes thousands each year for this international event, transforming downtown hotels into sanctuaries of authenticity, connection, and unapologetic queer culture.

For many, IML is more than a contest—it’s a homecoming, a revival, a public altar of affirmation.

This year, we celebrate René Hebert, the new International Mr. Leather titleholder.

In a time when even our joy is labeled a threat, René’s victory is more than symbolic—it’s a reminder that joy itself is a form of resistance.

That visibility is power.

That pride is not optional; it’s essential.

IML endures because the fight endures.

The leather community remains a vital part of the broader LGBTQ struggle, with its deep history of caretaking during the AIDS crisis, of fighting for bodily autonomy, and of organizing against discrimination.

In this political moment, when rights are rolled back under the guise of “tradition” or “morality,” events like IML are not frivolous.

They are frontline declarations.

We’re not going anywhere.

We will gather, we will celebrate, we will elect our icons, and we will continue to push back against the darkness.

Congratulations, René.

And thank you, IML, for reminding us what freedom looks like.